Broken
by Dark-Angel-Addict
Summary: ((Completed.)) Based on the song, "Broken" by Seether feat. Amy Lee. A second chance for Max & Logan? R & R.


**Disclaimer: **No, Max and Logan does not belong to me. No, Dark Angel does not, I repeat, does not belong to me. Well, there goes my self-esteem. :- P

**Setting: **Hello, Goodbye. (the one DA episode that actually _did_ make me cry). That end scene with Alec totally pissed me off, by the way, so this fic is my way of setting things right.

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**A/N: **Inspired by the wonderful song, "Broken" by Seether feat. Amy Lee (hence, the title). It is an incredible yet emotional song, which, I'd recommend listening to while reading this fic. ;-)

Sentences in _italics_ are the thoughts of the characters, therefore, Max & Logan's.

**----------------**

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**Broken**

****

_Hold it up, Max. You can't cry for him._

Looking him straight in the eye, she choked, "It's over." There was no blinking involved - just silence. "We're done." His mouth gaped open, in shock. "Get used to it." Like a stab to the heart, she walked away - leaving _everything _behind. _He_ was everything.

He remained where he was – motionless. No tears threatened to fall, because it was too painful to. It was now a fact: she had given up hope – she had given up on _them_.

But he didn't; he never will.

The door slammed shut. A fresh tear fell down her cheek as another one slowly made its way down. Then another one. And then another one until it became continuous. Her back made its way onto the door in back of her and she slid down, as her strength was no more. She no longer had strength; she no longer had weakness. Because, _he_ was her strength... _and _her weakness. It might sound stupid to other people, she knew. But he _was_ her everything.

Now, she had _nothing_ – she simply _felt _like nothing.

Head resting on her knees, she cried – for him.

_For Logan Cale._

Liquor in hand, he walked towards the table for another shot. He gulped down the warm liquid, relishing its sting flavor. He snorted. "I cared about you, Max." The glass smashed its way down onto the table. "I still do." He poured another glass. "But you've given up on us." Another glass was swallowed down as he tried to wipe away every memory he had about her – from the way she'd smile to the way she always had something sarcastic to say.

...The way she'd always, no matter what the circumstances, risk her life for him.

The way she'd kis... _stop it, Cale!_

His fist violently slammed down onto the expensive furniture. Who was he kidding? He could _never_, in his entire life, be able to forget Max. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Picking up a remote control, he flicked on the stereo.

A pre-pulse rock song made its way through the speakers of the penthouse. _Just what I need, a damn love song._ He scoffed.

**I wanted you to know**

**That I love the way you laugh**

**I wanna hold you high**

**And steal your pain away**

**I keep your photograph**

**And I know it serves me well**

**I wanna hold you high**

**And steal your pain**

His flashback went back to when she had hugged him that night – that night he had wanted to end his miserable, crippled life for good. Now, however, he wasn't so crippled anymore yet ending his life still sounded like a good idea.

**Because I'm broken**

**When I'm lonesome**

**And I don't feel right**

**When you're gone away..**

_Damn lyrics are reading my mind._ He mused as another gulp of alcohol went down his throat.

**You've gone away**

**You don't feel me here anymore..**

She stood up from the floor abruptly and wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall. _It's over._ She reminded herself and turned to leave for the elevators. Reminding herself didn't seem to help, as she sobbed even harder than last time.

**The worst is over now**

**And we can breathe again**

**I wanna hold you high**

**Steal my pain away**

**There's so much left to learn**

**And no one left to fight**

**I wanna hold you high**

**And steal your pain**

The song penetrated through the doors, making it hard not to listen to even without a super enhanced hearing. _I wish I could steal your pain away, Logan. But I can't even touch you._ She sighed inwardly. Another tear threatened to fall, but she didn't even bother to wipe it away when it did. She had let it fall - she had let her tears fall as freely as she had let her emotions.

**Cause I'm broken**

**When I'm open**

**And I don't feel like**

**I am strong enough..**

He wanted to call her – wanted to tell her it was okay she was with someone else – that they could still be _friends_. But he wasn't strong enough. He still needed her, badly. With his cell phone in hand, he debated, still berating himself for being so selfish.

**Cause I'm broken**

**When I'm lonesome**

**And I don't feel right**

**When you're gone away..**

**Cause I'm broken**

**When I'm open**

**And I don't feel like**

**I am strong enough..**

Opening the door to his penthouse, once again, she stood by his doorway - debating whether or not to tell him the truth while pacing back and forth. _What **is** the truth?!_ She asked herself. That she is not strong enough without him by her side? That she is broken without him? She didn't know. All she knew was that...

_Love sucks._

**Cause I'm broken****  
  
When I'm lonesome**

And I don't feel right When you're gone away..  
  
He had walked towards the window - the window she had managed to break that day when she had snuck into his penthouse for the Bast statue. Staring blindly at the dark city of Seattle, he realized that it was raining again, apparently. _Oh, what a coincidence. Even the weather matches my wonderful mood tonight._ He sarcastically thought to himself. With what courage he still had left, he hit the speed dial to her beeper number. He did not know what to say, but with instinct, knew he had to call her somehow.   
  
**Cause I'm broken**

**When I'm lonesome**

**And I don't feel right**

**When you're gone..   
  
You've gone away**

**You don't feel me here anymore.**

Her beeper vibrated but she didn't bother to pick it up. _Who the hell would call me at this time of the day?_ She thought irritably. The vibrating stopped and she picked it up in frustration. _This better be important_. Upon reading the text message, her heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The words strolled across the screen, bold and black - 

**cuz im broken & i dont feel right when ur gone**

The sender was anonymous, but she knew who it was, she always did. It was him -   
  
It was Logan.  
  
Her frown slowly, but surely, turned into a smile. A smile she hadn't been able to act upon ever since the night she had admitted her feelings to him.

Carefully, she crept onto the living room floor. What she saw there made her feel more guilty than anything else she had ever done in her life - and she had done more than enough guilty acts in her life.   
  
His cell phone was two feet away from him, which appeared to have been thrown there. His entire body was supported by the glass window as both of his elbows rested on top of his knees. He was staring down at the floor, as if amazed by its texture. Using both of his hands, he messed up his hair, making it look even more spiked up than usual. She frowned as she saw him shake his head profusively.  
  
"What the hell have I done?!" He shouted to no one in particular.  
  
She wanted to turn back and leave just as she had done a few minutes ago. She wanted to run. She was taught to do that, wasn't she?

But she _wasn't_ Manticore, she was Max.  
  
She held her breath as he stood up. Still head bent and staring down at the floor, he stood and positioned himself so that he was looking out the window. With one hand steadying himself against the tall glass, his free hand went to wipe what appeared to be tears falling out of his eyes.   
  
Her heart painfully reached out for him as she silently watched him mope over her. _Over me? I'm not worth it, Logan. Please don't do this to yourself. _She thought sadly.  
  
She didn't want to move; she didn't want to leave.

She simply didn't want to leave _him.   
_  
Just then, something unexpected came out of his mouth. Something the both of them were always afraid to say to each other. Something unpleasantly heartwarming.  
  
"I love you, Max." He said softly, yet genuinely to himself.   
  
That did it for her.

It was enough.  
  
There was no backing down anymore. Nothing else would've moved her the way he did and she knew it. Nothing else would mean as much to her than him.

_Logan._

Not even her baby, not even Original Cindy. Nothing else. No one else. There was only Logan. And yes, she was being selfish. But, in a broken world, she _had _to be.  
  
She slowly walked towards him and stopped, as she was merely a foot away from him. She gazed lovingly at him from behind. Had they not surpassed enough to reach this state? She would be damned to let Manticore take him away from her again. Life was short enough as it is. And Logan was more than she could ever ask for.  
  
Without a second thought, she wrapped her arms around his waist, making sure there would be no skin-to-skin contact. His body stiffened immediately to her touch but calmed down considerably as he recognized who it was.  
  
"Max!" He cried out, but didn't move an inch. It felt good - almost _too_ good to be true. He couldn't believe his own luck. _Maybe this is just a dream._ He thought. _This **can't** be real. It can't be._  
  
She clung onto him for dear life, resting her forehead on his shoulder. Her heart tugged at her. That was when she realized something.  
  
He was confused - one minute she was breaking up with him for someone else, and then the next minute, she was holding onto him for dear life. _Not that I'm complaining._ He thought. Not one word could come out of his mouth and he remained speechless for a brief moment.  
  
"What..."  
  
She interrupted him. "I love you too, Logan." She said those three precious words in barely a whisper. But he could hear her, and that was all that mattered.   
  
It didn't take him too long to process what she had just said. It was something he had been waiting for her to say ever since he had first known her.

He smiled, forgetting all the dramas and misfortunes that had occurred between them and savored the moment with the one woman that meant more to him than anything else in his world.   
  
"I love you, too." He said simply, meaning every word. Never had he ever thought three words would affect him as much as it did now.  
  
She laughed softly and tightened her grip around his waist. He felt warm and she felt loved, for the first time in her screwed up life. He grabbed her gloved hands and entwined them with his own.   
  
_The virus can go to hell... someday._  
  
_Maybe love doesn't suck all that much after all. _

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Yes, yes, it's an incredibly sappy story, I know. :P It is a break from my ever-carefree _other _story. Ahem. Thank you **ML fan **for beta-ing this angst-ridden M/L smut fest. 

There is actually a ML music video to this song (by bastardx5): Just go to Flyin11's site in my profile and click to download the video, "Broken" (Although it doesn't include the whole song, its still amazing, if you ever care to check it out).

In the meantime, press the little button on the bottom left hand corner and leave me a lil review for this fic, will you? Thanks. :-D I'm off to continue "Independent" now. Latez.

- Jade


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